Speaker of Azerbaijani parliament meets with her Georgian counterpart

The Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis (Parliament), Sahiba Gafarova, met with the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, on March 10, as part of her official visit to Georgia, Report informs.

Shalva Papuashvili greeted the Speaker of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan cordially and said that it was the first visit of a Head of Legislature after the parliamentary elections held in Georgia and the start-up of the new-convocation parliament.

He described that as a token of the high-level amity between the two countries.

Shalva Papuashvili mentioned fondly his own visits to Azerbaijan before saying that the intensive exchange of trips and the close contacts had helped promote broader relations. He also thanked the Government of Azerbaijan for its support to Georgia.

Gafarova voiced her appreciation of the generous hospitality and conveyed her congratulations on the election to the Georgian parliament and Shalva Papuashvili’s re-election.

She added that this was her second official visit to Georgia as the Speaker of the Milli Majlis and expressed confidence that the meetings held would contribute to further expansion of relations.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are friendly states, Gafarova said before remarking that such amicable relations firstly stemmed from the will of the two nations. The two peoples have lived in friendship, brotherhood, and good neighborhood for ages. Then, the Milli Majlis’s Speaker quoted President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan as saying that the political bonds between Azerbaijan and Georgia could serve as an example for all the neighbors.

It was said then that the Azerbaijani-Georgian friendship and strategic partnership had brought forth opportunities to carry into life major energy and transport projects. Those projects serve the two sides’ national interests whilst also fostering stability and development in the South Caucasus. At the same time, such projects have grown into a serious factor in the larger region of Eurasia where, too, they are generating new opportunities.

During the conversation, the mutual support and solidarity of both countries and peoples were underlined as well. In particular, it was emphasized that the parties have put forward an unambiguous position regarding territorial integrity and sovereignty issues.

Then, it was highlighted that the high-level relations continued in the parliamentary plane as well.

The two speakers stressed that the interparliamentary ties were an important component of the bilateral and multilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, and that the truly very efficient co-operation had been built up between the legislatures. Apart from the friendship groups, there is the successful collaboration experience garnered amongst the parliamentary committees. The speakers also underlined the importance of mutual support and joint activities of Azerbaijani and Georgian MPs upon international platforms.

The meeting had an exchange of views on the state of regional affairs and the necessity of maintaining peace and stability in it. Besides, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova made known her ideas about the double standards present in the system of international relations and the inadmissibility of biased and unfair approaches to individual countries.

The speakers shared views on other matters of joint interest, too.

Following the meeting, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova signed the memorial book.